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Easy Pumpkin Baked Alaska

pumpkin baked alaska cake being sliced
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5 from 12 reviews

This easy pumpkin baked Alaska is a fun fall spin on the classic pound cake, ice cream and toasted meringue dessert. And with just a few store bought ingredients, this beauty comes together in no time!

  • Author: The Simple, Sweet Life
  • Prep Time: 8 hours
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 8 hours 35 minutes
  • Yield: 12 slices
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale
For the pound cake:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
For the pumpkin ice cream:
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 - 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the meringue:
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Grease and line a 6" cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth.
  3. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract and salt.
  5. With your mixer on low, slowly pour the egg mixture into the cake batter.
  6. Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, mixing between each new addition.
  7. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  8. To make the ice cream, whip the heavy whipping cream on high until stiff peaks form.
  9. Add the remaining ingredients and continue whipping until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
  10. Line a bowl with a 6" opening with plastic wrap and pour the ice cream mixture in until it almost reaches the top.
  11. Cover with the cooled pound cake, cover with another layer of plastic wrap and freeze until firm (about 6-8 hours).
  12. To make the meringue, whisk together the egg whites and sugar over a boiling pot of water until hot and the sugar has dissolved.
  13. Add the vanilla extract and whip the meringue mixture on high until stiff peaks form.
  14. Remove the ice cream and cake from the bowl, cover with meringue and toast using a chef's torch or by baking in the oven at 500F for about 5 minutes (or until toasted on the outside). Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Using store bought pound cake: If you're using store bought pound cake you'll want to purchase either a 6" round cake or slice up a pound cake loaf so that it can be pieced together into a 6" round cake.
  • Working ahead with pound cake: If you're making your own pound cake, you can make it and freeze it for up to two months.
  • Using store bought ice cream: If you're substituting store bought ice cream for homemade, you'll need about a pint of pumpkin ice cream. Let it soften slightly so you can press it into the bowl.
  • Removing the cake from the bowl: Sometimes moisture can get between the bowl, plastic wrap and cake making it hard to remove. If you run into this issue, simply run the bowl under warm water until you can pull the cake out.
  • Start with a perfectly clean bowl for the meringue: This may seem like a no-brainer but even a little bit of grease can ruin your meringue.
  • Don't use plastics bowls when making meringue: To the point above, it's very hard to completely remove fats from plastic bowls and kitchen utensils, which tend to develop a greasy coating over time. Instead, use a glass, metal or ceramic bowl.
  • Crack your eggs into a separate bowl: Egg yolks = fat and as we've established above, fats will keep your meringue from reaching it's full potential. To avoid having a single yolk ruin the whole batch, be sure to crack and separate your eggs over a small bowl before adding the white to the rest of the batch.
  • Working ahead: If you want to have everything ready to go in advance, you can freeze the fully assembled cake (meringue and all) for one hour or up to overnight. To toast it, simply pop it in the oven 5-10 minutes before you're ready to serve it.

Pound cake recipe adapted from Sugar Spun Run

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thesimple-sweetlife.com/pumpkin-baked-alaska/